Local social enterprise company, Real Ideas Organisation (RIO), oversaw the restoration and re-opening of the Grade I listed column. Their brief to Nick Western at Clockwork Audio Systems was to provide a solution to project historical images marking the life of the column - mapped onto its face, with an accompanying soundtrack and a fireworks climax.
The second requirement for the projector was that it could be used in the associated Devonport Guildhall next to the column - to project images for conferences and events - but also to use as part of a cinema experience.
AC-ET's Video division, which offers complete creative LED, projection, control, image processing and content solutions, worked closely with Clockwork Audio Systems and Plymouth Council, to supply the Christie Roadster DS+14K-M Projector.
The projector solution needed to be used on two different planes - portrait to accommodate the Column projection, and Landscape for everyday use. The ability to use the Christie model on its side in a flying frame was a huge advantage when projecting onto the Column.
Another consideration two different lenses were specified, in order to accommodate the two vastly different formats in which the projector was to be used.
"For everyday use a lens had to be chosen to accommodate anything from projecting still images to movie playback, from the back of the Guildhall to the far wall. We also needed to choose a lens that would accommodate a tall, thin image for the column when the projector was on its side," comments Western.
Western also notes that the brightness of the projector was a huge consideration, due to the distance of the projector from the column and the potential ambient light conditions.
Ed Whitelaw, lead developer at RIO, concludes, "The projections were first beamed onto Devonport Column on the launch day, and since then we've had so many people say how fantastic it was, and that they want to see it again. It was certainly a proud moment for Plymouth, and it was a chance for us to really bring history to life."
(Jim Evans)
